False Start (Boyxboy)

22: PUSHING BUTTONS

Despite knowing he was okay, seeing him stir proved it. Keiji was alive. I was overwhelmed with relief.

Upon opening his eyes, the first thing he saw was Yo's face, and his whole being seemed to smile. Everyone held their breath as he pulled the mask down around his neck and said a throaty, "Hey."

I'd heard his sleepy voice hundreds of times throughout the years, but never before had it tickled my stomach like that. He seemed so groggy, warm, and huggable, and I caught myself thinking, he's so cute I could cry.

The underdeveloped truths within me were growing tougher to ignore.

"Hey there, man," Yo replied, and I wanted so badly to be in his place, exchanging those gentle looks.

Keiji did nothing but laugh. It was a slow, stoned-sounding laugh. Whatever was in his veins had him feeling good.  His goofiness was as contagious as always, and the other guys gravitated toward his bed with grins indented on their faces.

"The hero awakens," Shun sung, patting him on the shoulder.

"Wow, hey, everybody. Hero...?"

Mori directed his glassy gaze my way with a point of his finger.  When Keiji recognized me his smile became impossibly wider and he inhaled in childlike amazement.

"Kazu," he rasped, and waved at me with his good arm.

Right in the gut.

I was feeling a little loopy too and couldn't help but cheese, waving back and saying, "Hey over there."

"Hey best friend."

My God, I love him.

His blinks were unhurried and full of fondness, like butterfly kisses blown across the room. It felt as if the trauma had brought us closer together again, in turn creating a little distance between us and the cross country guys. None of them could ever really understand what we went through. I guess the toughest trials make for the strongest bonds.

Our teammates were getting a kick out of watching us interact. Their good-humored expressions made me realize that I was probably acting weirder than I was aware of.  In my mind, I made a note to check my actions and bite my tongue.

Sluggishly peering around, Keiji mumbled to no one in particular, "Do you know where my chapstick is?"

"Your chapstick?" Yo repeated. Though I had no good reason to dislike him, I rolled my eyes.

"It was in my pants.... Whoah, I'm not wearing any pants. ...Where'd they go? Who took off my pants?"

The others erupted into a giggle fit. While Keiji joined, he looked concerned.

"Kazu gave me that chapstick," he said, voice still all gravelly, and my heart just throbbed with affection.

Shun's mannerisms were sprightly as he leaned onto the railing of Keiji's bed and murmured, "I bet the nurses know where your pants are."

Then he fumbled around for the remote with the red button on the inside of the frame, pulling it out and pressing it with his thumb. A few seconds went by where nothing happened, so he pressed it again. And again.

"Ah, shit," Mori groaned, hiding his face behind the fanned fingers of one hand.

Yo and Shun went into mischievous mode, snickering and jabbing the button repeatedly. "Hello?" they screeched as though there were a microphone.

"No, stop," Niou whispered under his breath. He backed up from the bed, white with fear, and darted his eyes around until he saw the clothing cabinet, which he shut himself inside.

In my haze, I simply watched it happen like a daydream. Things felt different somehow. I felt reborn.

Three nurses tumbled into the room at once, and our teammates froze the way deer in headlights do.

"...Do you know where his chapstick is?" Yo dared to speak. Shun stifled a chuckle.

One nurse placed her hands on her hips and narrowed her eyes. "All right, get out boys. Now."

It was like being at the circus. Niou busted out of the closet, making them jump, and scurried into the hall without a goodbye. Shun bowed an exaggerated bow and weaved through them to follow suit. With their intimidating scowls, the three women ushered the other two to make haste, too.

One of them was somewhat young and pretty, and Mori seemed captivated by her presence, goggling at her with pink cheeks. It was an amusing sight, witnessing our fierce captain's confidence wither away.

"You go, too," the nurse said to him. A coy smile sneaked it's way across her lips.

"Uh, yes, of course," he said, pressing his palms together and nodding twice. "So sorry about this."

"Mori." I amplified his name across the room.

He whisked around and nervously scratched at his head. "Y-Yeah?" 

"Thanks for the blood."

His hand went to the bandage around his elbow and he straightened up. "Oh. Yeah. No problem."

We smiled at each other, his pressing dimples into his face, and then he turned back to the nurse. She seemed to soften when she realized he'd done a selfless deed. I think Mori was happy that I made him look good in front of her.

He dipped out after an awkward stare down, and then the nurse's kind exterior crumbled away again. She glared at Yo and said, "Okay, time to scram. Let these kids get some rest."

Yo didn't seem like he wanted to leave Keiji. He was still sitting at his feet, giving him this earnest look. "I'll see you soon, okay?" he said, quietly. Intimately.

Keiji tried to speak, but the words caught in his throat and caused him to cough. He nodded behind the fist he held against his mouth, eyes watering.

What's up with them?

Yo patted his leg and slowly got up, staring vacantly at the nurses as he went to pick up his beanie. After tugging it back over his mussy hair, he paused by the window, glowing in the sunlight, and picked a flower from one of the jars. Before leaving, he bent over Keiji and tucked the stem of it behind his ear.

My eye twitched. The short varsity runner was irking me, trespassing on our friendship like that.

"Mmkay. Bye you two," he said, stuffing his hands in his front pockets, and then he was gone.

I sighed, thankful for the silence that settled in the room.

"So is everything okay in here?" the pretty nurse asked.

"Actually," Keiji croaked, lifting up a finger, "I'd really like to know where my chapstick is."

He sounded drunk, and we both started chuckling, so the nurses didn't take the request seriously.

"Get some rest," the one said.

They left, and left us alone.

"Whoo," Keiji hooted, breaking the ice. "What is this stuff?" He was holding up one of the tubes attached to his arm.

"I don't know," I drawled out.

"Are you floating like I am?"

We made eye contact and upon seeing each other's droopy expressions our straight faces warped into grins. The two of us were a mess. We started to laugh, laughing harder and harder because the other person was, until the sounds became silent and we were clutching the railing, unable to breathe. I didn't know it was still possible for us to laugh that hard. My cheeks were pulled tight, a deafening silence in my ears, a hot pressure in my head pushing tears out of me.

"I'm like, crying," I practically sobbed, rocking back and forth.

And I really did feel like crying, I was that overjoyed.